Mark & the Shark (Day 9)

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Today is our last day of diving and we got up a little early to be sure to squeeze in three full dives, and have time to take photos and enjoy each others company in this paradise. I had the good fortunate of having a curious Galapagos Shark check me out on the first dive, and on the second the chance to swim amidst a school of large benitos. Mark even tagged a Galapagos! Beautiful everywhere you look.

The Hawaii-based pelagic longline fishery targeting swordfish is treading in dangerous water by catching sea turtles (including endangered Leatherback sea turtles) according to a newly released report by the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS).

Follow our Feb. Cocos Island Expedition in this series of blog posts. The expedition set out to track sea turtles and sharks in order to create a protected science-based swimway that will safeguard endangered marine wildlife during their migrations in the Eastern Tropical Pacific.

I’m en route to Cocos Island, Costa Rica with Turtle Island Restoration Network. Our goal is to try and figure out where endangered sea turtles and sharks that visit the Island swim, and then try and create the world’s first international swimway to protect these underwater superhighways used by these animals during their migrations.

Please join Dr. Sylvia Earle by signing this scientist letter which outlines the devastating impact of the California Drift Gillnet fishery on our marine ecosystem, and calls for a phasing out of this destructive fishing method.

I have always believed we need to be good stewards of our environment for future generations. Our ocean and its marine wildlife is an integral component of that. The health of our ocean affects our air, food, and coastal communities. California’s health is directly tied to the health of the ocean.

Jairo’s brutal murder was an assault on those who protect endangered wildlife around the world. Justice for Mora is crucial to keeping wildlife and its defenders safe in Costa Rica, and won’t rest until justice is served.

And as evidenced by his beautiful underwater shots from his recent Cocos Island Dive Expedition with Turtle Island, Paul Nguyen has a talent for showcasing our blue-green planet. Click to learn his top underwater photo tips.

We should be leaders in fisheries management, not cheaters,” said Doug Karpa, of the California-based Turtle Island Restoration Network, noting that the U.S. is one of the few nations that ban the fishing in its own waters of overexploited stocks unless they are recovering.

There are fears that the gentle giant, whose flesh is prized in countries such as China, India and the Philippines, is being slowly driven towards extinction. And so little is known about them that there is huge uncertainty about how their decline can be arrested.

With the full support of Turtle Island Restoration Network Assemblymembers and Senators today called on the Pacific Fisheries Management Council and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Fisheries Service to transition away from deadly California drift gillnets.

Turtle Island Restoration Network is sponsoring graduate student Elena Nalesso an effort to better understand the endangered scalloped hammerhead sharks of the Cocos Islands. Elena’s recently published thesis examines the behavior of these sharks at the remote island, which is located off the coast of Costa Rica and northeast of the Galapagos Islands.

Conservation groups sued the National Marine Fisheries Service today over a new rule allowing the Hawaii-based longline fleet to fish beyond limits set by international agreements meant to protect bigeye tuna and other imperiled marine species.

Turtle Island signed on to an open letter addressed to Washington Governor Inslee’s commending him for his leadership on ocean acidification, and also addressed to the Department of Ecology asking that they follow suit and also take action on ocean acidification.

Have you sent in your nomination for the 22nd Annual CVNL Heart of Marin Awards? Please nominate Turtle Island Restoration Network for the ‘Achievement in Nonprofit Excellence’ award; And please nominate a dedicated SPAWN volunteer for ‘Volunteer of the Year.’

The holiday’s are just around the corner and if you are like me you are starting to think about what gifts to give to loved ones during winter celebrations. This year, as you prepare your gift list consider making purchases online from Smile.Amazon.com.

A record number of threatened shark species, including scalloped hammerhead sharks and thresher sharks, will be granted greater international protections in part due to Turtle Island Restoration Network’s efforts at the 11th Meeting of the Conference of the Parties in Quito, Ecuador.

This year a record number of threatened shark species will be granted greater international protections at an international conference, but silky sharks could be left out of this historic global movement if Chile and Peru continue to oppose their protection.

Turtle Island Restoration Network’s Executive Director Todd Steiner and Conservation Science Director Alex Hearn are in Quito, Ecuador attending the 11th Meeting of the Conference of the Parties to the Convention on Migratory Species of Wild Animals (CMS) to lobby for the inclusion of several species needing greater protection including silky sharks, hammerhead shark, mobula ray’s and other marine species such as the polar bear.

Shark scientists gathered last week at a conference organized by the Colombian Presidential Agency for International Cooperation to learn how to effectively track the migration patterns and behavior of threatened sharks species with specialized underwater acoustic tags,* as well as strengthen the Latin-American Migramar network of scientists studying marine migratory patterns in the Eastern Pacific.

Turtle Island Restoration Network strongly opposes the siting of any Liquefied Natural Gas processing hub or any other industrial development at James Price Point/Walmadany as such a development would permanently destroy wild and sacred lands along the pristine Kimberley coast and open the door to wide scale industrialization of the coastline.

Silky sharks are among the most heavily fished sharks in the Eastern Pacific. At least two of our silky sharks have been landed by fishers, although on both occasions it was not possible to determine whether they had been caught inside protected waters or once they had migrated out into the open ocean.

Schools of hammerhead sharks, Silky, Galapagos and Tiger sharks, and gentle sea turtles abound in the waters surrounding Cocos Island National Marine Park, a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Cocos Island sits approximately 350 miles from the Costa Rican mainland and is surrounded by a 12-mile no-take Marine Protected Area.

Turtle Island Restoration Network is sponsoring graduate student Elena Nalesso in her efforts to better understand the sharks of the Cocos Islands. Elena is currently completing her thesis on the island’s sharks and recently returned from her first Cocos Island Expedition.

Today the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) announced emergency actions designed to protect endangered sperm whales from being caught in the California swordfish/thresher shark drift gillnet fishery. The emergency rule, prompted by advocacy by conservation groups, goes into effect tomorrow. The overdue regulations came 20 days after the drift gillnet fishing season opened in offshore waters beyond 75 nautical miles.

Where do sharks go? This basic question is one that is rarely considered when creating protected ocean or marine reserves, yet it is one of the most critical ones to conservationists working to protect sharks in the Eastern Tropical Pacific.

A federal judge on Tuesday upheld California’s ban on possession or sale of shark fins, rejecting claims that the law discriminates against the Chinese community – where shark fin soup is a traditional delicacy – or interferes with federal management of ocean fishing.

Support our Allies in Australia to stop the Western Australia shark “catch and kill” program and march from the Ferry Building to the Australian Embassy on 575 Market Street. Culling is an unscientific and indiscriminate method of managing sharks and protecting public safety. Other regions with high risk of human/white shark encounters- including Bay Area waters- have systems of information, alerts and temporary beach closures.

New Report Details Top 10 Reasons to End California’s Deadliest Catch – Swordfish

New federal emergency fishing regulations are forcing California’s drift gillnet fleet for swordfish and shark to stop fishing for the season if a single endangered sperm whale gets entangled in a net. All vessels that fish offshore will now be required to carry on-board observers at all times.

The California drift gillnet fishery for swordfish and shark is the most dangerous fishery for whales and other marine mammals along the U.S. West Coast from California to Alaska. A new federal review of marine mammal bycatch in commercial fisheries found that the drift gillnet fleet is causing more harm to whales than ever

White sharks off California’s coast will receive additional protection beginning March 1, the date it becomes a candidate species under the California Endangered Species Act (CESA). In February 2013, the California Fish and Game Commission (FGC) determined that listing white shark as threatened or endangered may be warranted and designated the species as a candidate pursuant CESA.

Governor Pat Quinn Signed House Bill 4119 into Law Today, Making Illinois the First Inland State to Ban Shark Fins. Illinois is now the fourth State in the continental U.S. and the second largest to ban the sale, trade, possession, and distribution of shark fins. Illinois provides one of the largest markets for shark fins in the United States, and this law represents a significant step towards reducing pressure on rapidly declining shark populations.

Illinois State Senator Champions Shark Fin Bill with Support from Shark Stewards. Situated on the largest body of fresh surface water on the planet, Chicago has no sharks swimming in its waters, but this has not deterred Illinois citizens from advocating on their behalf. House Bill 4119, sponsored by Rep. Sara Feigenholtz (D-Chicago), would ban the sale, trade, distribution or possession of shark fins. The bill, which recently passed in the Illinois House with an 81-33 vote, is moving through the legislative process with new leadership from the Illinois Senate Senator Antonio Muñoz. The proposed law just passed through the Illinois Senate Environment Committee, bringing it closer to the Governor’s signature.

Shark Stewards, a non-profit shark conservation organization based in California, announced the launch of its new Chicago-based chapter to support shark conservation in Illinois. Dedicated to conserving ocean health through the protection of sharks, Shark Stewards’ newest chapter will focus on engaging citizens and supporting legislation to ban the trade, sale, and consumption of shark fin in the state of Illinois.

Shark Stewards, a non-profit shark conservation organization based in San Francisco, announced today that it is launching a new chapter to support ocean conservation efforts in Texas. Shark Stewards is dedicated to conserving ocean health through the protection of sharks. The local chapter of Shark Stewards will be leading the shark campaign to engage citizens by raising awareness and introducing legislation to ban the trade, sale, and consumption of shark fin in the state of Texas.

New York – May 31, 2005 – On the eve of a critical United Nations meeting to discuss actions to protect the world’s oceans from overfishing, a letter signed by more than 1,000 international scientists calling for decisive action has been delivered to the international body. Recent scientific reports have linked industrial fishing, such as longlining, to the decline of sea turtles and other marine species, and have offered marine protected areas as a potential solution. During the UN meeting which begins June 10, Costa Rica will be proposing a plan of action that offers sustainable use marine protected areas as a part of a comprehensive solution for the world’s oceans.

On Monday, June 6th, the new report Striplining the Pacific: The Case for A United Nations Moratorium on High Seas Industrial Longline Fishing will be released at the United Nations Law of the Sea meeting June 6-10th. The new book length report echoes the sentiment of Canadian Prime Minister Paul Martin’s call on May 1st to end the “pillage” and “rape” of the ocean at an international fisheries conference this week.

Forest Knolls, CA – On the eve of a key United Nations meeting relating to the oceans, a growing number of international scientists and non-governmental organizations are actively lobbying their country delegates to address the problem of industrial longline fishing in the Pacific. The scientists and NGOs are also joined in their efforts by members of the New Zealand, Irish and EU parliaments. The lobbying effort echoes the call of more than 800 international scientists and 230 NGOs who are also asking for a moratorium on industrial longline fishing in order to protect endangered leatherback sea turtles, albatross, sharks and other species caught and killed as bycatch by industrial longliners.

Although there have been recent efforts to “mitigate” the devastating impact of industrial pelagic longlines on sea turtles, the problem is not limited to these species. Pelagic longlines are literally wiping out the lions and tigers of the ocean—sharks, billfish and tunas. Industrial longline fishing results in an extensive catch of non-targeted species as “bycatch” creating a global marine biodiversity crisis.

San Francisco, CA –Today, the UN General Assembly will vote on a resolution encouraging the “banning [of] directed shark fisheries” (Para 48), and “action to reduce or eliminate by-catch…to conserve non-target species taken incidentally in fishing operations” (paras 34-35 ) such as sea turtles, marine mammals and other species.

An open letter to the President of Costa Rica, Dr. Abel Pacheco, urging the protection of sharks and other endangered marine species from overfishing by foreign fleets, was published in today’s edition of La Nación, Costa Rica’s largest newspaper.

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